For My Lung Health campaign named APEX award winner
September 20, 2021
GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS – For My Lung Health, a joint American College of Chest Physicians® (CHEST)and American Thoracic Society (ATS) public service campaign, is the winner of this year’s Pharmaceutical Executive APEX Awards in the respiratory category. The campaign ran during the summer of 2020 and targeted individuals with lung disease, reminding them of the importance of continuing to prioritize their health in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The For My Lung Heath campaign reached out to people of color (POCs), who continue to be disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and have higher rates of chronic lung conditions—a reminder of the inequities POCs face in accessing care. The campaign’s success was marked by impressive audience engagement with its dual-language web content and videos. Within six weeks of its launch, the campaign video had more than 2.6 million views and 40 percent of those views were for the Spanish language version.
“Public education is critical to ensure the wellbeing of those with preexisting lung conditions, and CHEST is proud to receive this award and celebrate the success of this campaign,” says CHEST President Steven Q. Simpson, MD, FCCP. “With COVID cases surging across the country, the For My Lung Health campaign is as relevant today as it was when it was first launched in the summer of 2020.”
The video message directs viewers to the For My Lung Health website, which links visitors to patient education from the CHEST Foundation and 14 other providers of lung health education. In addition to COVID-19 information, asthma, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis and general lung health topics are covered. CHEST and the CHEST Foundation have continued to update these resources to improve access to reliable information.
The CHEST Foundation continued the effort to combat disparities within health care with the launch of the Listening Tour initiative in the fall of 2020. The initiative provided a platform for the foundation to hear from dozens of voices across the country about how severe the inequalities are for POCs. Through targeted grants and campaigns like For My Lung Health, CHEST and other respiratory societies can begin to address the growing disparities, provide valuable resources and bring about change within health care.
The For My Lung Health campaign was made possible by an educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline with additional support from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ATS and CHEST would also like to acknowledge support from Glue Advertising in launching the For My Lung Health campaign.
About the American College of Chest Physicians
The American College of Chest Physicians® (CHEST) is the global leader in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases. Its mission is to champion the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases through education, communication, and research. It serves as an essential connection to clinical knowledge and resources for its 19,000+ members from around the world who provide patient care in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. For information about the American College of Chest Physicians, and its flagship journal CHEST®, visit chestnet.org.